Baldwin City Public Library expansion plans made final

Plans for the Baldwin City Public Library expansion have been tweaked and approved, keeping the start of construction on the $620,000 project on schedule for September.

As with earlier plans released in March, the L-shaped expansion would add 3,220 square feet to the current 6,380-square-foot library.

Jane Miller, president of the library board, said architect Jay Zimmerschied of Lawrence made several requested changes to preliminary plans released in March. Most significantly, one of two meeting rooms has been eliminated and the remaining room, which will serve as home to future Baldwin City Council meetings and the municipal court, has been reduced in size. A private consultation room for executive sessions will also be included.

The final plan will move the Kansas and local history collection to the new addition, Miller said. The space the Kansas and local history collection now occupies will be home to an expanded young adult section, she said.

Drawings will be released for bids Aug. 1, with the construction scheduled to start in mid-September, City Administrator Chris Lowe said. The project is to be completed by the end of the year.

Lowe and Miller said they anticipated a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of the library expansion advocates have pushed for years.

A construction trailer will be parked in front of the library during construction, causing some adjustments during the Maple Leaf Festival, Lowe said. In recent years, the children’s petting zoo was set up on Seventh Street west of the library.